When these kids arrived, it was a typical scene where one of the kids (in this case the young boy) didn’t want to be photographed. He cried and carried on about it, and didn’t want to change into his gray sweater and in fact he wouldn’t stand anywhere in the studio without collapsing and crying. But my specialty is exquisite lighting and emotion, meaning that I’m not just going to nail the lighting and technical aspects, but I will also draw out real expressions. I love winning kids over and have worked on it my entire career. In fact I have an entire routine now from years and years of playing with my pink pig puppet in the studio. One of my friends who has moved away, has a few times called me by FaceTime just so I could do my pig puppet routine for her little girl again.
So when this cute, sad guy wouldn’t cooperate, I told him he could keep his white shirt, he could be as sad as he wanted, and he could even have his mom by him. I just needed him to stand here so I could show him my pig puppet.
This was just the warm-up. Within three images I had him laughing, all that’s all I wanted at that point, was for him to relate standing in my studio to fun and laughter. So at that point I let him go and continued to photograph his sister. She was adorable and cute, and really held her poses well. She was a young model and was warmed up before we started.
When it was her brother’s turn again, he was a breeze. I had him won over. We got him in his sweater, he sat in his chair while I moved around the studio adjusting lights and getting things set for him, and when I started my pig puppet routine, he laughed and laughed right on cue. From that point on, he never stopped laughing. I changed setups, I shot black and white, I changed backgrounds, and each time it was his turn, I would start my silly puppet routine and he would laugh. Notice how he’s almost falling out of his chair laughing in some of these photos.
When it came time for a family group portrait, both of the kids did a great job and we were able to get a great image of everyone. And when everyone left, this little guy was drunk with laughter. He could hardly stand straight. It was so funny, and completely opposite of how he arrived.
I love photographing families and children. If you need some great family or kids portraits, now is a great time. The Christmas rush is over, and I can fit you in quickly, 801-728-3317. My studio is located just north of Salt Lake City, Utah, and no matter what the weather is like outside, I can get great images in the studio. And many times you can view them right after the shoot too.
And make sure you check out ideas on my main website too, at BryCox.com. Happy New Year, and until next time, America.